Kristin Plenger Biography

Imagine, you go to work in your dress shoes, black suit, buzz-cut hair, red power tie, and nobody pays you a second look. But, the second you get home, you kick off your shoes, and don high-heels, the suit is replaced with a dress, your short wig is taken off, and you let your long curls fall, and your tie is in the closet, with a necklace in its place. Such hiding of true feelings is not an unheard concept in the transgender world. Millions of transgender people will never express their true feelings in their lifetime. This is similar to The Intruder by Andre Dubus, Kenneth Girard a

Scholars have been critical of the medical establishment’s and state’s involvement in constructing and policing of transgender identity. These kinds of pressing issues have occupied the small existing literature. There is not much information and studying what is being done on transgender in traditional areas, family studies research, such as their dating behavior and formation of intimate relationships in adulthood. There is little research on the issues around being parents, their children’s experiences with having transgendered parents, as well as relationships in the family as a whole, and relationships in work and school.

Elizabeth Blevins quoted Neil Carpathios in an article saying “’ [Stacey Waite] dares to explore and write about the often complicated terrain of gender, sexuality and societal perceptions of the self, the body and desire.’” Waite is slowly helping everyone break away from the idea that gender is a solid tangible concept. In “The Kind of Man I am at the DMV” written by Stacey Waite, traditional gender roles are being challenged by explaining that transgender people are the same as everyone else and pointing out the ignorance that some have towards less commonly recognized genders.

The main setting of Trans-Sister Radio is within the small town of Bartlett, Vermont. The primary focus is set on Dana, a chromosomal-male college professor who is in the process of transitioning into the female gender. As a male, Dana is well-received by her community, even though she is perceived as strange and effeminate. She forms normal romantic relationships with women, has a fulfilling career, and is admired by those surrounding her, however she still feels incomplete. Unfortunately, what is missing from Dana is not externally noticeable, it is intrinsic happiness. From a young age, Dana suffered from gender dysphoria, a mental disorder that causes individuals to experience serious distress due to frustration with the sex and gender assigned at birth (APA, 2013). To alleviate the traumatic pain that has burdened her for decades, Dana makes the bold decision to partake in complete gender reassignment surgery. Trans-Sister Radio challenges the prototypical ideologies of character growth, morality, and relationships through its descriptive insight on transsexuality and thus gender.

In her book “Gender Outlaw: On Men, Woman, and the Rest of us,” Kate Bornstein goes over a lot of the major issues regarding gender awareness and identity politics. She talks about the ideas of labeling ones self, understanding gender differences, how people view laws, behaviors, and the medical and scientific privilege that make transitioning challenging for a lot of people. Bornstein touches on many of the issues today that affect trans people. She includes poetry, pictures, quotes, essays, and a play to raise questions and discuss the idea of gender. This is a great book to introduce and discuss the issues that affect the lives of trans people as they navigate and explore the lines that define gender.

"Transgender: By the Numbers." Times Union. Times Union, 5 Dec. 2011. Web. 13 Feb. 2017.

American society today is not any different from the past, except today people are apt to discuss everything publicly on various social media outlets such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram just to name a few. Transgender persons happen to be one of those subjects that have become the hot topic of the new normal. Nowadays there are blogs, tweets, and pictures posted online of people’s transition “coming out.” Like the past, society is still tough when it comes to judging each other. Although transgender might not have had a recognized community in the past, it is prevalent that society is becoming more accepting of their community, and aware of issues their community faces. In this essay the names, nouns, or pronouns used will be in accordance to the individual’s preference.

Kidd and Witten define the term transgender vaguely, stating it “describe[s] people who transcend the conventional boundaries of gender, irrespective of physical status or sexual orientation” (Kidd & Witten, 2007, p. 36). This term is a reference for the ‘other gender’ that is not particularly male or female. Currently, within the American society, there is a growing awareness of individuals who are transgender. Much of this awareness comes from LGBT movements and

For many individuals in the LGBTQ+ community, finding healthcare professionals who understand their identities and are receptive to their needs can be difficult. Many in the community feel that they have difficulties finding a practice that will respect their identity and provide them with effective and reliable care. For those specifically in the transgender community, these difficulties can increase exponentially, as many doctors are not properly trained to address the specific health needs that transgender individuals can often require. By his senior year, recent Keene State College graduate Kennedy Redden had noticed that both the staff of his school’s health center and the nearby Planned Parenthood had a distinct lack of knowledge about the needs of transgender students. Because of this, Kennedy decided to write a Transgender Health Manual for the school to use in the general education of its healthcare professionals as his senior capstone piece in Community Health.

Caitlyn Jenner was given the Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly Awards (ESPY) Arthur Ashe Award for Courage. Twice an Olympic triathlon athlete, she blazed new trails. Long before her transformation, Jenner lived a life that her family and society expected of her: a loyal, loving son and father and an outstanding sportsman. Her newest role was as an advocate for the transgender community, which may become one of her greatest roles. Presently, Caitlyn Jenner’s purpose was to promote sexual diversity, accepting differences, and respect for all human beings. As I watched Jenner accept her award, I reflected back on my understanding of transgender orientation.

There is a lot in this documentary film that can elicit a deep emotional response from the viewer, especially from those who identify in part with the LGBT community. One of the more emotional segments of the film involved the life of the transgender senior KrysAnne. It was disheartening to hear out and observe her life in the film: being estranged by her own family after her transition and struggling throughout the later years of her life to find proper health care. Most of the time, she mainly had to care for herself in her own home until she required medical attention in a hospital setting. Later on in her stay, KrysAnne did have a support circle developed for her by some of the hospital staff in an effort to provide her the love and

Gwen, is a Caucasian transgendered female between the ages of 31-40 years old. She initially came to counseling to quit smoking. After conquering this goal, and suffering from withdrawals, she still was not happy with herself. As her life took a whirl spin, she also lost her job. She experienced periods of depression from living as a male and often thought about transitioning to the opposite sex. She became a bit confused, and often put it off because she was confused about really made her happy in life. Gwen’s mother notice the unhappiness she was experiencing within herself and offered her support in assisting in transitioning to the opposite sex.

Hue is a fourteen year old African-American and Asian transgender female to male, self-referred to the agency for depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideations on transgender suicide in the media. Hue is a 9th grader in high school, and he describes satisfactory academic progress. He lives with his mother, and visits his father in the summer in Michigan. Hue reports three friends he is close with and one being his best friend for eight years. Hue’s mother does not approve of his friendship with his best friend due to the verbal abuse in the past, but Hue reports that the disagreement was in the past and they have rebuilt their relationship.

A hero’s home, where they’re familiar and comfortable, is the start of their hero’s journey. Laverne Cox’s home life and family support shaped her into the hero and role model she is today for the transgender community. She didn’t always have her family’s full support. She often felt like a disgrace and an embarrassment to her family. These thoughts lead her to attempt suicide at eleven years old. In an interview, she describes, “During puberty, the attraction for other boys got really strong… I imagined that my grandmother was looking down on me and that she knew what I was thinking, because she’s in heaven” (Cox). The day she thought her grandmother was looking down on her with disappointment, was the day she swallowed a large

The transgender community faces much opposition in today’s society. Transgender athletes, in certain states, are facing many discriminating laws against them. In the United States, only sixteen states will let students compete as the gender they identify as. Seven states force transgender students to compete under the gender they were born, seventeen states have a case by case basis system, and ten states don’t even have a policy. (Transathlete, 2017) Students in these states have a hard time being able to express who they are. Changes need to be made where every student has equal opportunities to be who they are.